CASUAL PREP: GITMAN VINTAGE

Wearing a dress shirt and tie doesn’t have to be stuffy. Just take a stroll across any New England prep school and you’ll notice a purposefully disheveled approach, with loosely knotted ties, untucked, wrinkled shirts and who-knows-what type of trouser. It’s charming at age 14, but fast forward to 28 and you’ll need to tighten things up a bit. Tuck the shirt back in, wear fitted trousers that compliment your shape, but keep the tie loose. Casual prep is a hugely popular trend at the moment, with “The Hilfigers” campaign a perfect example of old meets new. Take classic inspired American sportswear, tighten up the fit, break it in, soften the edges and put it on young, beautiful people who look like characters from a Wes Anderson film. To get the look you can go with Hilfiger, or try Gitman Vintage, a first-rate clothing brand from Pennsylvania. Shirts that come in sizes S, M & L, are a good indicator of a more relaxed aesthetic. Here are two items from the Gitman site that would match up well with jeans and wingtips: Navy seersucker shirt $165, and Indian pitloom madras tie, $75.